


Halloween

by imnotmadeofeyes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Children, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I don't even know what I'm doing here, M/M, Tags Added as Chapters are Added, you get to watch them grow up during this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-01-16 00:39:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18510397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotmadeofeyes/pseuds/imnotmadeofeyes
Summary: 5 times Magnus brings mischief on Halloween and 1 time Alec does.





	1. 10-year-olds

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic in a while and my first Malec fanfic, so excuse my writing ^^'
> 
> My headcanons for this fic are:  
> * Alec was either homeschooled or went to some fancy private school until he was nine years old  
> * Raphael and Magnus are close buddies  
> * Maryse is a good woman, while her husband (I keep forgetting the name) becomes an asshole due to work (which is why they're fighting a lot)  
> * Jace was Alec's only buddy before he met Magnus  
> * Magnus decided he needed to be Alec's best friend because he was wearing an Avengers shirt to his first day in the new school  
> * Alec is kinda weird and nerdy; Magnus is, too, but he still belongs to the more popular people

“Alec!” The voice of Magnus Bane lets everyone in the halls flinch together as the gangly 10-year-old runs up to his best friend of all time. All the eyes on him lead to Alec blushing furiously and trying to hide in the thick scarf wrapped around his neck, but Magnus doesn’t care. He’s all noise and movement, and he almost barrels into the smaller boy because he just barely manages to catch his limbs in time.

“I have the perfect costume idea for Halloween!” he exclaims as soon as he’s come to a halt.

Alec’s eyebrows shoot up. “Halloween?” he asks. He is new to town, and new to public school, and he had no idea that celebrating Halloween was actually a thing. He knows that he has never worn a costume and that he never went around trick-or-treating because his father claims that this is all dumb and they shouldn’t be allowed such nonsense.

“Yes of course!” Magnus looks utterly shocked by Alec’s lack of understanding. “You’re my best friend, and you gotta come trick-or-treating with me! And I have the perfect idea for our costumes. I’m gonna be a warlock, all mighty and sparkly, and you’re gonna be the mysterious hunter that hunts magical creatures!” He looks so happy about this fantastic idea that Alec feels terribly bad for not being as enthusiastic about it as his best friend.

“My father doesn’t like me going out for Halloween. He thinks that these ‘hypocritical traditions are nonsense’.” He even does the air quotes.

“Then you’ll just tell your parents that you’re coming over to work on a presentation for – I don’t know, bio maybe? And my mother will cover for you and we can hide your costume at my place and it’s going to be so amazing!” Magnus’ eyes are still shining, and his grin is full of mischief while he’s already planning to deceive Alec’s parents.

“I don’t think I’m going to get away with that, to be honest” But Alec knows that his mother could actually be on his side ever since his father slipped and screamed at tiny Max even though he didn’t really deserve that. He knows that his parents are a step away from a divorce, and he can be sure to have his mother on his side because lately she stopped following his father’s orders. He tells as much to Magnus, then, and feels the giddiness spread inside of himself while watching the happiness spread over Magnus’ features.

“Brilliant!” Magnus hugs him full of excitement, and the roughness of that action almost has them both tumbling to the floor. “So, we have to go shopping to get you your hunter costume. Do you want a bow or a sword? I think a bow would be so much cooler! And you need a cape, but in black, because mine is already dark blue and we can’t wear the same color. Or maybe we should find you something red? No, that’s too …”

Alec doesn’t really listen while Magnus rambles on about the costume that he is already planning for his best friend. Instead, his train of thought comes to a screeching stop while he realizes the biggest problem of Magnus’ idea: “And how is that a matching costume? If I’m a hunter of magical creatures, then I must hunt you, too”

“No, of course not!” Magnus instantly answers exasperatedly. “You’re a nice hunter: you only hunt those that did wrong. Like, I don’t know – a protector? Right! You’re a hunting protector!” With that thought, Magnus’ smile spreads again. “And I’m the high warlock of New York, the head all the magical creatures, and we work together to uphold the peace between the humans and the downworld!”

Alec has no idea where that comes from, but the idea feels right, and the picture begins to form in his head. So he grins, nods, and they start planning that story that surrounds both their characters. By the time Halloween rolls along two weeks later, they have carefully chosen and designed each object for their costumes, and even though you see that many of the items they carry are handmade by kids, it’s actually really fancy costumes. Magnus is wearing dress pants and shoes, with a galaxy sweater that actually glistens and a black silk cape. He also plans on some of his mother’s eyeliner to line his eyes, and his nails are already sloppily painted black that day during school. Alec, on the other hand, is wearing leather-look pants and a dark blue linen shirt that looks like a weird mix of medieval style and Henley, and his dark blue cape has a hood rimmed with blood red fur. Around his shoulders, he is wearing a bow and a tube with some sloppily glued arrows. They look fantastic together, thinks Magnus’ mother.

The only problem that day is that Maryse stops Alec that day before leaving the house to go over to Magnus where he’s getting changed. “Where are you going, Alexander?” she asks, sternly, and Alec is taken aback for a second.

“I – I told you, I’m going over to Magnus’ house, we’re supposed to be working on a presentation. Bio. A bio presentation”

“About what?” She is folding her arms in front of her chest and lifting an eyebrow in what everybody will call the Lightwood Glower.

“Eeeeh –“ Alec doesn’t have an answer, and he pales when he realises that his mind doesn’t work quick enough – he won’t find anything quickly enough.

But just as he realises his mistake, Maryse falters, and a small smile starts turning the corners of her mouth upwards. “You go have fun, Alexander. I’m going to come pick you up at eight, though, this way your father won’t know what happened. This will be our little secret!”

Alec can’t help, he lurches forward and hugs his mother tightly. “Thank you so much!”

Maryse kisses the top of his head. “And by the time you’re home, you better have a fantastic topic for your bio presentation!”

So in the end, it works out fine at all, even though they gather so much candy that Alec can’t keep it hidden from his stepbrother Jace and his sister Izzy, and he has to give them lot of it just to keep them from telling their father. To Alec, that doesn’t matter, because this Halloween is considered the best evening he ever had.


	2. 13-year-olds

After that first Halloween they spend together, it kind of becomes a tradition: Magnus thinks of the best costumes, so the year after that they go as the people from the Wizard of Oz, together with Magnus’ friend Raphael and his friends Simon and Clary. The year after that, Alec is Cap and Magnus is Bucky. And when they’re thirteen?

“Alec, I have the bestest idea there is for Halloween!” Magnus exclaims. This time, there is no running, no shouting, because they’re thirteen now, and next year they’re going to be starting high school and even Magnus has lost some of that childish energy. Some, not all. “Why don’t we get the Band to go as Power Rangers?!” The Band, that is their group of friends: Jace, Clary and Simon, who are a year younger than they are, and Raphael from their year. Sometimes, they ask Izzy to tag along, who is three years younger than Alec, or Maia and Jordan, who are friends of Simon, and at his last birthday party they realized that the two of them would fit into the Band really well, but it’s difficult because they live in a different school district.

But the largeness of the group that Magnus wants to ask is not the problem Alec has with this year’s Halloween. He swallows thickly, licks his lips and wrings his fingers together while he’s trying to find the right words to tell his best friend in the world that this year, Alec will not be joining for Halloween.

“Magnus, I –“ He stutters a little, as he always does when he’s really nervous, but Magnus waits patiently for Alec to finish. “It’s a really good idea, but I- I can’t join you this year.”

“Why?!” Magnus wails, and even in the crowded lunch hall, the sound is so loud that people frown and turn their heads. “But it’s tradition!” By then, Magnus is already beginning to grow into his gangly limbs, and he’s definitely learned how to properly apply his mother’s nailpolish, but when he throws out his hands he still looks ridiculous.

“I know, and I’m sorry, but –“ Alec sighs, and this time he ducks his head down just like that, no scarf to hide in. “I’m getting my wisdom teeth removed the day before, and since I can’t go to school, my mum won’t allow me to go tricking” By then, Maryse had gotten a divorce, because her husband had gotten worse over the years. She had been a single mum of four children for one and a half years now, and it was the best that could’ve happened to Alec’s and Magnus’ friendship.

Magnus is exasperated. “NO! That can’t be! Your mother always allows us to meet!” But no matter how much he argues and how disappointed he is, Alec has been through that with his mum already, and it’s no use: he’s not allowed to go out that day. Which means that after a few days of nagging about it, Magnus eventually has to accept that fate and leaves Alec alone. Or so Alec thinks.

Halloween, that year, is on a Saturday, which is why they have decided to have his wisdom teeth removed the day before: this way, he has the weekend to lay low, and he won’t miss too much school. He spends Halloween in bed, sleeping and cooling his hurting cheeks. Jace laughs at him because he looks like a hamster who got stung by a bee he swallowed (or so his jerk of a brother claims), but then leaves him alone. Maryse checks up on him now and then, but he’s left alone enough so that he feels better by late afternoon. When Maryse notices that, she makes him come down for some dinner. Or so she says.

Because when Alec comes downstairs, the whole living room is covered in Halloween decoration. There are candles on the tables and sideboards and pumpkins on the floor and ghosts made from paper tissues dangling from the ceiling, and in the middle of all that decoration are his friends. They’re all there: Raphael, Simon, Clary, Maia, Jordan, his siblings, and Magnus is in the middle of them all, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

 “Surprise!” They’re not dressed up, even though Magnus is wearing his favourite spooky shirt and Clary has a spider in her hair. The Halloween decoration seems enough, and now Alec also notices popcorn and limo and some pudding that has the colour of blood on the dining room table. From the kitchen, the smell of pumpkin soup fills the living room.

It’s a wonder Alec doesn’t start crying when he hugs all his friends in turn. “We wanted to surprise you with a party” Clary explains.

“Since you couldn’t come out and all” Raphael continues.

Magnus is the last to land in Alec’s arms, and their hug lasts the longest. “Thank you” Alec whispers in the junction of Magnus’ neck, because he’s one hundred percent sure that his best friend is the mastermind behind this plan.

“If you’re not going trick-or-treating, neither will I” Magnus replies, and he smiles softly. “So I brought the party to you!”

They eat pumpkin soup and strawberry joghurt and then they watch Halloween movies until almost eleven o’clock, and it’s now Alec’s new favourite Halloween memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I wanna know what you think so hit the comment box and leave one there!


	3. 16-year-olds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late Easter! I finally managed to finish chapter 3, the weekend was absolutely crazy. Enjoy your reads, and don't forget to leave kudos or a comment!

By the time they’re sixteen, many things in their group have changed. Izzy is now a permanent fixture in their group, even though she’s only thirteen now; but she’s smart and mature and Clary has found her best friend in Alec’s little sister. And, apparently, because Clary loves herself some Lightwoods (even though Jace doesn’t share their name), she has started to date Jace. Jace has been head over heels for the redhead ever since they were twelve, he told Alec that one lazy Sunday afternoon spent playing PlayStation, and so Alec is very happy for them. It is also very obvious that Simon has the biggest crush on Raphael, but since Raphael apparently is about as dense as a brick, they haven’t yet found their way to each other.

But Magnus, that sly little bastard, has a plan to get the two of them together. He tells Alec so during one of their one-on-one study sessions that they have two or three times a week; because the two of them are still closest to each other, and Alec is by now physically dependent on those afternoons that they have to themselves.

Alec is sprawled on Magnus’ huge bed, leaning against the headboard and reading some Shakespeare, a text marker cap between his teeth. Magnus has his head propped up on Alec’s stomach, and he’s trying to get some algebra done – with the emphasis on trying. Because after a while, he throws the book away and stubs at the huge Shakespeare edition until Alec also lowers his reading to look him in the face.

“I think I have an idea how to get Raphael and Simon to finally realize that they could’ve been smooching for at least three months.” He claims. Alec is by now used to Magnus’ involvement in personal lives: if it was up to Magnus, Alec would have dated at least four people already, because Magnus thinks he deserves a relationship. But Alec isn’t really interested in anyone, he can’t really say why. He’s just not the dating type, he doesn’t feel the need to be in a relationship. He has his friends and his siblings, the Band. What else does he need?

“I don’t know Magnus, do you really think you need you have to stick your nose in that?” Alec retorts. While he loves how invested Magnus is in the lives of their friends, sometimes he believes Magnus’ ideas to be a little radical.

“Don’t be stupid, Alexander” He’s the only one who’s allowed to call him Alexander. “This is not me minding other people’s business. This is me trying to get rid of all that bloody unresolved sexual tension in my life. I swear to god, if I have to watch them pine for another day, I will die.”

“You are a drama queen” Alec rolls his eyes. “So, what have you got?”

“I’m thinking Halloween” Magnus rolls over, sits up with his arm propped up on the other side of Alec’s hips so that their heads are right in front of each other. “We’re having a party at your place, right? So I’m thinking we’re playing spin the bottle then, or seven minutes in heaven. And that’s when we get them together in a cabinet or anything like, and then we just have to sit that out and make sure they’re not actually getting each other off in there”

“You have one of a dirty mind, I tell you that” Alec replies, a little laughter in his voice. But since the idea isn’t nearly as cruel as he thought it would be, he agrees to it, and before he knows it, it’s Halloween. They’re all over at the Lightwood house, which has become their new tradition since they’re now too old to go trick-or-treating – Alec and Magnus, and this year also Jace and Izzy have taken Max to their usual route, but this year they didn’t even dress up for the occasion. The place is decorated, but not as much as three years ago, and instead of pumpkin soup they have tons of snacks and finger food. And since half of them are already sixteen and older, Maryse also allowed them to have a few beers. So they drink some of their beer, and they eat food and have fun and it’s a good evening all in all. And then Magnus decides that they must play Truth or Dare because he’s slightly tipsy and they all agree, because the boys are slightly tipsy, too, and the girls are always up for those kinds of shenanigans.

It starts with some easy questions: first kisses, secrets, stuff like that. Jordan has to drink some disgusting coke with gummi worms and sour apple gummi rings inside it, and Jace has to call some radio hotline and make an embarrassing confession about some STDs which he actually doesn’t have. They have the time of their lives, and when it’s Isabelle’s turn to choose someone, she chooses Raphael, that sly little girl.

“Pray tell me, oh dear Raphael” she recites when he chooses Truth, “Do you have a secret crush on someone in the room?”

Raphael’s face has become beetred and for a second it looks like he considers changing his mind. And then, “Yes” There’s some whoops and claps, and then the game goes on, for now. A couple of minutes later, Magnus has been dared to sing a disco song and then chooses Simon. The mean glint in Magnus’ eye is only obvious to Alec, who knows his best friend inside out.

“Simon, my dear” His tone is honey-sweet, and that alone makes Simon go a little white around the nose. “What do you choose?”

“Dare”

That is the single dumbest idea that Simon has ever had, and he is a specialist for dumb ideas. Magnus grins, “Then I dare you to seven minutes in heaven with Raphael”

They both protest, of course they do. But not only Magnus thinks it’s a good idea, but basically everyone in the room – except for Alec who still believes that it’s not Magnus’ business and the both of them should figure everything out in their own pace. But since his friends are still teenagers, and they are still into that kind of stuff, they make the soon-to-be-couple go into Alec’s room (“Why mine?” Alec protests, but fighting with his siblings about that is no use).

Izzy has that evil grin on her lips that even makes Alec nervous when she turns to Magnus. “You are brilliant and mean!” she says and throws an arm around him.

“I am so taking that as a compliment!” Magnus hugs her, grinning, and before Alec knows what’s happening, they’re downstairs again, sitting in their circle on the ground and continuing to play. Alec doesn’t really get what’s happening.

“Is anyone taking the time?” Alec wonders aloud.

Magnus rolls his eyes and pats Alec’s knee. “Oh my dear Alexander” He is holding up the key to Alec’s room. “The door’s not even locked, they can come out whenever they like.”

“Hah” Jace throws in, “Come out” They all laugh a bit, but the joke will only really be funny when the two will finally come back downstairs. Alec shakes his head at his brother, but Jace only winks at him, that little bastard.

“We should play that drinking Monopoly that Jordan brought!” Maia offers, because Truth or Dare has now apparently lost its magic to them. There’s lots of agreeing going on, and they change the rules to drinking beer instead of shots, because they’re not old enough to be allowed the hard stuff yet. And then it’s set up, and they’re in a tight circle and throwing dice and taking cards and drinking, and nobody really cares whether or when Raphael and Simon are going to join them again.

The game is not made for sixteen-year-olds, so there are questions asking about things that are still new territory to them. Also, there are apparently many action cards that make the people sitting in the circle kiss. Alec thinks it’s a dumb idea, but it only becomes totally clear to him when it’s his turn, he draws a card, and reads it out lout.

“Snog the person on your right for at least two minutes. Have the person left of you take your time” He hesitates two or three times, and all the colour seems to leave his face. He looks to his right, where Magnus is sitting equally dumbstruck, and then to his left, where Clary is grinning widely. There’s whoops around the room, which now lead to Alec blushing furiously, and he carefully places the card in the middle of the board.

“Are you okay with that?” Only when he asks that, Alec really looks at Magnus, searches for hesitation or even aversion in those familiar green eyes. He finds none, instead there’s a broad smile on Magnus’ face.

“Show me what you’ve got, Alexander!” That elicits more cheers from their friends, and Alec wishes for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He also can’t explain why his heart is beating as fast as it currently is.

Clary has the timer ready, and she gives them a countdown. When she cheers “GO!”, Alec leans over, closes the distance between them and presses his lips to Magnus’. Magnus of course knows that this is Alec’s first kiss, and he takes the lead in the kiss right away. He cups Alec’s cheek, angles his head slightly, and then suddenly they’re kissing in earnest. Alec’s heart is beating so hard that he’s pretty sure that Magnus can feel it under his fingertips, but he doesn’t pull away. This doesn’t feel weird, even though they’ve been friends for basically forever. His hands land on Magnus’ hips, and he pulls him closer, holds onto him. In answer, Magnus gasps, and that is the moment where tongues get involved, slightly sloppily due to the lack of experience, but exciting, nonetheless. Alec doesn’t know when he closed his eyes, but he doesn’t want to open them again, instead enjoying how all his senses are filled with Magnus.

In the beginning, Alec was pretty sure that two minutes were a very long time, but when the timer goes off, telling them that the time ran out, Alec still startles. He hasn’t expected it, and if Magnus’ reaction is anything to go by, neither has he. Magnus’ lips are slightly swollen, red and shiny, and his eyes are kind of glazed over. They look at each other for a long moment that feels weirdly intimate before they both lean back, effectively breaking the embrace. They share one last smile, and then Maia is clapping Magnus on the back and congratulating him on that kiss and Alec looks away. He finds Jace’s eyes over the room, and his brother is looking at him with one eyebrow raised and Alec doesn’t know what Jace wants to imply with that.

The game drags on, and it’s a while later when Simon and Raphael come downstairs again. They claim that they didn’t know the door was unlocked the whole time, but Alec can’t really believe it when their clothes are rumpled, and their faces flushed. They sit next to each other when they rejoin the circle, and Alec notices how they’re basically pressed together from shoulder to knee. So he bumps shoulders with Magnus and whispers a “Well done” in his best friend’s ear, which makes Magnus laugh.

“Am I going to need to change the sheets?” Alec asks boldly, probably because he has had quite a few beers. Simon is blushing, and Raphael gapes, and they both claim that no, nothing happened up there. Alec laughs it off, but he still changes the sheets before he goes to bed that night, just to be sure.


	4. 18-year-olds

Nothing changes because they kissed – and Alec didn’t expect it to. They’re still best friends, close as ever, and they’re very still touchy-feely and comfortable with sharing beds and everything. Magnus had a short, but intense relationship a year before graduation, and Alec was there to pick up the pieces. He also dated for a while, a pretty girl named Lydia, and they spent a great summer together, but since she’s moving to London for university and he’s going to go to Alicante, they broke it up shortly after graduation. They’re still friends, so that’s okay, there were no hearts broken in the process.

And now, they’re in university. The semester started in September, and Alec already decided on literature and music as majors. Jace has stayed in New York with Clary, where the redhead got into an elite art programme at NYU, and he’s actually training to be a fitness coach. And Magnus, he obviously also got admitted into Alicante, and he’s trying out drama and history, but also some literature classes just because it means that they get to spend more time together.

It’s a little weird: they’re on the same campus, but in different dorms, and while Alec has a quiet but pleasant roommate, Magnus was paired with some Latino called Lorenzo and they’re always at each other’s throats. In the beginning, Alec is sure that that is only because both of their personalities are so big, but then he meets Magnus’ roommate and it turns out he’s just an asshole. So Magnus isn’t happy, and basically spends every waking moment at Alec’s, but his roommate isn’t all too happy about that either. So they have to find spaces where they can spend their time together as they like, but they can’t really find anything really private which slowly also nags at their friendship that so much relies on one-on-one time.

“What are we doing for Halloween?” Magnus asks over lunch one day in late October, and even Alec notices that Magnus is late for planning his favourite event of the year. Still, Alec doesn’t have any plans yet.

“I have no idea.” Alec shrugs. He’s heard of college parties and he’s even been invited to some, personally, over WhatsApp or over Facebook. But to be honest, he doesn’t really care what he’s doing as long as he’ll be able to spend Halloween with his best friend. “Do you have anything in mind?”

Magnus finishes chewing his fries, but his face already tells Alec that whatever the answer will be, Alec will not be able to understand the excitement. “You know, there’s this frat party thrown by the fraternity of a friend from musical. Alpha something, I can’t remember these kinds of things. And it’s a costume party, so we can even dress up for it!”

Alec has heard of frat parties, and if he knows one thing, then it is that frat parties are never a good idea, especially if it’s your first year at university. Also, there’s a reason why Alec is studying literature of all things: he’s a geek. And not in the cute kind of way but in the way that he doesn’t like big groups of people. But when he looks at Magnus now, and he’s looking at him with his big doe eyes and tells him about costume ideas so excitedly, how could he say no? That is right, he can’t. So of course he agrees to go to a frat Halloween party dressed up as …

“Remind me why it has to be that trenchcoat again?” Magnus looks sceptically at Alec as they’re getting dressed for the party in Magnus’ room.

“Because” Alec replies, “We’re going to go as Dean and Castiel. And since you’re Dean, you get to wear henleys and leather jackets and jeans, and I have to look like an angelic accountant.” This year, he got the final word on the costumes, obviously. Magnus never liked Supernatural at all, even though Alec has been bingewatching the series for years.

“But you would look so much better if you would lose that ugly ting” Magnus argues. They’ve been over that for forever now, but that’s a thing that Alec won’t budge on. He wants to look the part, and even though he’s not really at cosplay level yet, he thinks it’s a good costume, all in all. Magnus steps closer, right into Alec’s personal space, and starts straightening out tiny details: he makes sure the tie is just askew enough, and he straightens out the trenchcoat, before tugging the belt that belongs to the thing out of the loops. “At least get rid of that ugly thing” he mutters, and Alec doesn’t protest.

When he watches Magnus watch him, he suddenly remembers something he only got today to make Magnus’ outfit perfect: a small pendant in form of a totem that exactly fits the one that Dean is wearing on a delicate leather band. “I got something for you” Alec declares as he takes the necklace out of his coat pocket. He reaches out to clasp the necklace around Magnus’ neck, and then straightens it out on Magnus’ chest. “Now you look perfect!”

Then they make their way to the party. They’re fashionably late: the party started at eight, and it’s about 10.30pm when they finally reach the mansion that has now become a frat house. There’s light and music streaming out of the house, and when they’re inside, the place is packed with people. Magnus is instantly glowing, greeting people left and right, accepting drinks and compliments. Most people haven’t really put much thought into their costumes, and many of the girls have just decided on the usual stuff: slutty cats, cheerleaders, nurses. Really, it’s everything as terrible as Alec had imagined, and so he just kind of tags along with Magnus and drinks. Some of the conversations they have are pleasant enough, and after midnight, he finds himself pleasantly buzzed and having a really good time with his best friend and some of the nicer people they’ve met. It’s nothing like their own Halloween traditions, but it’s alright.

Eventually, Alec finds himself on the dancefloor with some girl he just met, and they’re dancing close to each other. He’s sure that he doesn’t want to hook up with her, but she’s pretty with her Asian look and long dark hair. The song is something bass-heavy, and they’re more or less grinding on each other. But then, the song changes and she says that she needs something to drink, and Alec is left alone. He turns, looking for someone else to dance with, but when he doesn’t see anyone, he instead makes his way through the crowd, looking for his best friend. He doesn’t even really register leaving Magnus alone, as far as Alec knows Magnus has also been dancing with them until a couple of minutes ago.

He finds Magnus in the garden, screaming at someone. Alec needs a second to realize it’s Lorenzo, Magnus’ asshole roommate. Alec stops and stares for a moment because he doesn’t know what’s going on. From his position in the backdoor and the music blasting from inside he can’t make out words, but it’s obvious that the fight is terrible and that they’re about to jump each other’s throats. So finally, Alec walks up to the roommates with a surprisingly sure step.

“Magnus. Magnus!” He takes Magnus’ arm to win his attention, and when his best friend turns to him, he can see the angry tears in his eyes. “He’s not worth it!” He says, because he knows that while it takes a long time for Magnus to actually get physical, when he does it becomes violent. And one thing he doesn’t want Magnus to do is poking a fight with someone as terrible as Lorenzo.

“Oh, and how he’s worth it!” Magnus replies, trying to turn to Lorenzo who is throwing jeers at them, but Alec’s grip is strong on his best friend and Magnus struggles before he manages to free himself – something he only manages because Alec apparently is more intoxicated than him. When he frees himself, he balls his hands and just throws a punch. Lorenzo literally spins on his feet before stumbling to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

“You are the single biggest wanker on the whole wide world and I never wanna see your homophobic fucking face ever again!” Magnus shouts, and Alec hasn’t heard him swear this much in one sentence in forever. Then, Magnus turns on his heels and storms off quickly enough so that Alec has his problems following him. He loses him in the mess of bodies in the room, but he knows that Magnus is only looking for one way: out. So he leaves the house and the party behind and checks the street. Just around the first corner, Magnus is sitting on the sidewalk, arms wrapped around his legs and sobbing – it breaks Alec’s heart. He plops down next to his best friend, and hugs him awkwardly from the side. Magnus slumps against him, and even though Alec keeps asking, he doesn’t tell him what the fight was about (he never will). So they just sit there until Magnus calms down enough to get back on his feet, and then they start going back to the campus.

“I can’t live with him anymore” Magnus says after a long time of quiet, and even through his intoxicated brain Alec hears that the tone is earnest and knows that one of Magnus’ dumber ideas is going to follow. So he perks up, and looks at the other questioningly.

“What do you mean?”

“Alec, my bestest friend in the world, my dear” Magnus stops, turns and looks at Alec with wide, reddened green eyes. “Do you want to move in with me?”

Like Alec could say no when Magnus is looking at him like that.


	5. 20-year-olds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters keep getting longer and longer ... this is getting out of hand xD how do you like the development so far?

They hurry to find a flat together – it’s a tiny place close to university, with a crammed living room-kitchen fusion, a bathroom that should’ve rather been a broom closet and two tiny bedrooms that just barely fit their beds and closets. But it’s theirs and Alec loves living in the place. Due to their parents’ support, they manage to buy proper furniture, a nice kitchenette and a living room table that fits the room and a comfy sofa. They spend three days painting the walls in happy colours and Magnus has a great eye for decoration and even though it’s crammed, it’s beautiful. They spend most of their time at the living room table, because there wasn’t really enough space for desks in their rooms and anyway, and so they decided to not buy some because they already had that amazing huge table which their life together centres around.

Them living together changes nothing in their friendship: they are still closest to each other, and even though they both have their different friend groups due to their different study programs, they still like to spend basically every waking moment together. All their friends from the Band tease them for their relationship. Jace at one point really asks Alec why he never told him that Magnus and he started dating. And even though that makes Alec think and wonder, he protests: they’re best friends, they live together, but they are not a couple. They are not.

But on the other hand, Alec wouldn’t mind it.

He has dated some other people, girls and boys by the time he’s twenty. But Magnus is still his longest-existing close relationship, and Magnus is the only person that Alec really is not afraid to open up to completely. Nobody has ever become as close to him as Magnus, not even Jace who is his brother in everything but blood. So he starts to wonder, and from that wonder develops a tiny crush. A crush that he ignores because Magnus is dating people left and right and he enjoys his freedom in university circles and also Alec doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. Not after ten years of being best friends with him. So he buries those feelings that he can’t explain deep down and they continue as they always did and he’s happy with that.

While being in university, they have found a new tradition for Halloween: frat parties. Even though Alec thinks them totally overrated, every year they find one where they can go dressed up in some kind of matching costume. They go as Steve and Bucky one year, just because they can and because Captain America is still cool after all these years, and one year as John Silver and Captain Flint. This year, they have decided on Batman and Robin – they’re going to the house of the frat that Izzy made it into, because they’re so proud that Izzy did not only got in Alicante but also in their biggest fraternity on campus. The house is pretty close to their flat, so they walk there, already buzzed from the predrinking that happened while dressing up (and putting make-up on, in Magnus’ part).

“That cloak is so impractical” Alec complains, because it’s his role to complain before reaching the party. The mask on his face is already itching, so he pushes it further out of his face before disentangling the heavy black cloak from his legs before he stumbles. “Why do heroes need capes?”

Magnus, whose green cape is much shorter than Alec’s, laughs at him. “Stop complaining, Alexander. At least you’re a terribly handsome Batman. Much prettier than Christian Bale”

Alec blushes, and he’s glad that it’s dark and chilly so that Magnus can’t really think anything by that. “But that doesn’t change that this costume is terrible. Why did I have to be Batman again?”

“Because you’re dark and broody, and I’m cheeky and elegant, and therefore I must be Robin. Also, I’m pulling off the tights much better than you.”

That’s true, he looks amazing in green tights. Alec on the other hand is wearing black sports leggings, which is only half as embarrassing for him. “That is so true” he says out loud after finishing his thoughts. They continue bantering their whole way there, and when they reach the house, they’re surprised at how quiet the house is. From the parties they’ve been to before, there should by now be music blasting and people packed in the house.

“What the hell is that?” Alec asks, but Magnus only smirks at him mysteriously before ringing the doorbell. Alec watches him curiously, but he can’t find the answer in his best friend’s behaviour. Something smells very odd there.

Izzy, dressed as Wonder Woman, opens the door with a wide grin spread on her face, “Alec, Magnus! You’re here!” She hugs them both, and ushers them inside. Alec can’t get a word in between her babbling welcomes, and he only manages to ask the question burning on his tongue when he’s basically shoved into the living room of the frat house.

“What is up? Where’s everyone?”

But when he turns away from his sister and actually looks at the room, he knows what happened: there’s the Band. Simon and Raphael, tanned from their study time in California, dressed as vampires; Clary and Jace, dressed as Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable; Maia and Jordan, as – he doesn’t know, some Netflix series characters. They’re all there, and Alec doesn’t remember the last time the Band was all together after graduation. They most likely haven’t been, because everybody moved to a different city after graduation.

“Oh my god!” To be honest, he’s almost crying as he hugs them all in turn, so happy to have his friends around him again. “Am I really the only one who didn’t know about this?” He asks, incredulous. Then he turns to Magnus, “And how the fuck did you manage to hide this from me?”

Magnus laughs. “Because Izzy planned it, that’s why.”

“You’ve been whining about missing the Band for a while now, and we couldn’t stand it anymore” Izzy adds to that, and Alec can’t help but laugh at that. It’s true, though, so he doesn’t protest. He missed his friends from home dearly, because they were his first clique ever, and at some points in his life at university, he just stops and thinks how he would love to share this moment with them.

“So, what’s the plan?” Alec asks them, grabbing two beers, opening them and giving one to Magnus before plopping down on the sofa.

Clary grins. “First, we get drunk”

“Then,” Simon asks. “We go clubbing.”

So that’s what they do. Izzy organized beer, vodka, rum and some coke to mix them with and they sit together and catch up with each other and drink until they are all more drunk than buzzed. And then, they make their way over to the student club just off campus that according to most people has the best parties. And that club is the definition of what Alec calls an awful place to party: the only light are the colourful spots and the strobe lights, and the music is so loud that he can’t hear his own thought, so talking is basically impossible.

But since he’s already pretty drunk, he doesn’t care, instead he buys a round of shots for them all and they start to party. They fit in with their costumes, because for the first time in forever, they’re having a costume party here, but they’re still sticking out. They’re the odd ones, especially when they enter the dancefloor, because they’re not dancing prettily: they’re escalating and having the time of their lives. Alec doesn’t know what they’re doing, jumping around and wiggling and doing weird moves that don’t even fit the music. But he’s so happy to be reunited with the Band that he couldn’t care less about what they’re doing.

They dance for some time, they drink some more, and then they continue to dance. And Alec doesn’t tire, even though his friends begin leaving the dancefloor one after the other. In the end, only Magnus and Alec are left. They continue dancing, but with the changing of the music to something heavy-bassed and slow, their dancing changes, too. Instead of just flopping around weirdly, suddenly they’re up in each other’s space and dancing directly with each other. Alec might be too drunk to realize the consequences, but he reaches out and pulls Magnus flush against him, leaving his hands splayed over his hips possessively. Magnus in turn wraps his arms around Alec’s shoulders, and in a moment,  they’re basically just grinding onto each other. Alec doesn’t know what’s happening, and he doesn’t think about consequences. But he knows that he enjoys the feeling of Magnus against him, holding him like that, showing the room that Magnus belongs to him.

“Alec” Magnus doesn’t say it loudly, and Alec shouldn’t be hearing it over the music, but from Magnus’ body language he knows, and so he pulls away a little to look his best friend in the eyes. They stare at each other, and Alec feels like Magnus is looking right into his soul, looking for some answer. Alec doesn’t know what he’s looking for, and he doesn’t care: what he cares about is how absolutely stunning Magnus looks with his eyeliner smudged and his hair messy and his whole body sweaty. His eyes are glinting in the strobe light and his lips look – kissable.

That thought seems to give Magnus the answer he was looking for, because suddenly he’s surging forward, sinking his hands into Alec’s hair, pulling him close and pressing their mouths together. Alec gasps, but reciprocates the kiss after just one rapid heartbeat. He pulls Magnus close, all movement forgotten. His world in this moment revolves around this kiss, about the points where their bodies are touching. He wraps his arms around Magnus, effectively pulling him closer. Their kiss is nothing like their first all those years ago, instead deep and filthy, and Alec feels fire thrumming through his veins. This is better than everything he’s ever experienced.

Magnus is warm and solid against him, and their bodies fit together like they’re made for each other. His hands roam Magnus’ back while their tongues tangle, and when his hand dips lower to cup his ass, Magnus moans into Alec’s mouths. The sound is lost in the music, but Alec can feel it, and the knowledge how turned on Magnus already is makes his brain short-wire. He couldn’t care less about where they are, how drunk they are – all he knows is that this kiss is the single best kiss he’s ever had, and that he never wants to stop.

They do, though, eventually. Magnus pulls away, reaches up to shout in Alec’s ear, but the words get stuck in his throat when Alec kisses his neck, nipping at the sensible skin. “Alec” Magnus finally finds his words again, but Alec can hear and feel how dishevelled he already is. “Let’s get out of here”

Alec doesn’t verbally agree, he just pulls away, takes Magnus’ hand, and tugs him out of the club. He doesn’t care that their best friends are sitting the other way in their booths, partying and that they’ll be probably be looking for them soon. What he cares about that Magnus kissed him, and that he can still feel the ghost of that kiss basically everywhere and that he wants _more_.

As soon as they’re outside, Magnus stops, pulling out his phone, and Alec wraps his arms around Magnus from behind, again kissing his neck. “What are you doing?” he asks quietly, even though his ears are ringing from all the noise in the club.

“Texting Izzy that we’re going home” Magnus replies, and Alec hums, nuzzling his neck. It makes Magnus shiver, and finally protest, “Stop that! I can’t concentrate”

“That’s the plan” Alec chuckles, but he at least stops kissing Magnus’ neck for a moment. It seems that now that he’s started, he can’t stop. Most of all, he doesn’t want to stop.

Their way home will be remembered as a blur of laughter and flirting, hand-holding and kisses shared under streetlights and in darker corners. They could’ve probably made it in half the time if any of them had been capable to keep their hands to themselves; but Magnus seems as eager to make out with Alec than the other way around. When they reach their flat, it’s Magnus distracting Alec while Alec tries to unlock the door by getting his hands under his shirt and roaming his chest, gently scratching over his abs.

So as soon as they step a foot inside their flat, Alec has Magnus in his arms again, and he presses him up against the door, effectively closing it with the movement. Magnus moans at the force behind Alec’s movement, and Alec swallows the sound. They kiss each other hungrily, like they need each other to breathe. And maybe it’s because they’re both drunk, but maybe it’s because Alec hasn’t been the only one with a hidden crush for the last couple of years. The reason doesn’t matter to Alec though, not when he has Magnus pressed so close to him and so obviously excited about the situation.

Eventually, Alec’s roaming hands reach Magnus’ thighs, and in the heat of the moment, he hoists Magnus up, lifting him, and holding him against him. They both moan when Magnus wraps his long legs around Alec’s waist, effectively rubbing their clothed erections together. This time, Magnus peppers nips and kisses along Alec’s neck, while Alec manoeuvres them through their flat to one of their bedroom – he doesn’t care, and it doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a bed. He’s so distracted by Magnus’ mouth on his neck and jaw that he in the end stumbles over his cape, and they both tumble to the bed in a heap of limbs and costume.

Alec is quick to hold himself up as to not suffocate Magnus, and he looks at the other with a horrified look on his face. Magnus looks at him for a second with an unimpressed look on his face and an eyebrow raised in an unsaid question, and next they know, they’re both laughing and Alec plops back down, hiding his face in Magnus’ neck, shaking with laughter.

“I told you that cape was unpractical!”

“Yeah, but you look so hot in it!” Magnus replies, and suddenly, they grow quiet. They change positions on the tiny bed until they’re both on their sides, laying side by side. The sexual tension from a moment before is forgotten while they stare at each other. Alec watches Magnus watch him, and he is mesmerized by the beauty of the other man. Even now, with his hair matted by sweat and probably alcohol and his eyeliner smeared over his face and in fucking green tights, he’s the most beautiful being Alec’s ever seen.

“I don’t want to have sex with you tonight” Alec suddenly blurts out, into the quiet, and Magnus startles.

“What?”

“I mean, I want to have sex with you. So bad. But not tonight. Because I’m drunk and I want to remember every single detail of our first time together.” Alec’s rambling now, but from the fond look on Magnus’ face, it seems like that’s okay. “I want to remember it because you’re so important to me and it’s going to be the best moment in my life and I don’t want it to be blurry and –“

“Shut up, Alexander” Magnus says, but it’s fond. He reaches out, clasps their hands together. “I get it. I’ve been in love with you for years, and I don’t want to not remember this properly either.”

Alec briefly wonders at how perfectly their fingers fit into each other, but then he’s startled out of that thought by Magnus’ words. “You- you’re in love with me?”

Magnus chuckles. “Ever since that kiss before graduation”

Alec doesn’t verbally answer that. He’s not made for words, even though he’s a rambly drunk. Instead, he closes the distance between them, and pulls Magnus into a soft lingering kiss. “I want to be with you” he whispers afterwards, peppering Magnus’ face in kisses. “I want you in every way there is. But right now, I want to go to sleep so that tomorrow morning, we can finally have sex”

Magnus laughs, but he also doesn’t disagree, and so they fall asleep like that, drunk and warm, still in their costumes, but perfectly happy in each other’s arms.


	6. 23-year-olds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it, that's the final chapter! I was so motivated to write today xD  
> I hope you like it and please let me know what you think <3

If someone asked Alec what happiness felt like, he would say that happiness is coming home to a small flat close to campus and making dinner for the love of his life. And that perfectly describes Alec’s life. After graduating and deciding that they were going back to New York, they finally got a flat in which the bedroom actually fits a double bed without one of them having to sleep at the wall. Their new flat isn’t much bigger than the one in Alicante, but they have a separate kitchen and a bathroom with a window and a big bedroom that offers enough space for their clothes and a small desk that is used more as a make-up table than an actual desk. The living room now offers enough space so that Alec could even buy a piano to play on at home. The new flat used to be an old factory building, and therefore there are large windows, and everything is light-filled and appears to be much bigger as it is because of the high ceilings.

Magnus and his dynamic didn’t really change much, Alec feels. They’re still best friends in the first place, and since their relationship has always been quite keen on physical contact, there’s not much change in their behaviour at all. But even after three years now, Alec still feels like the first day: he loves kissing Magnus and sharing a bed with him, and the sex is the best he’s ever had. If anyone had ever asked him if he thought that Magnus and he would be even better as a couple, he would’ve said no, because Magnus was his best friend in the world and he couldn’t imagine it any other way. Now, he knows better: they have grown even closer since they began their relationship.

By now, over a year after graduation, the Band has made it back to New York all except for Izzy, who will be graduating by the end of the year, and Maia and Jordan, who are jetsetting the world with their indie rock band. Clary is a published paintress, Jace is saving money to open his own gym, and Alec accepted a job as a lecturer at the up-and-coming NYU literature program and earns a little more money by offering private piano classes on that old piano that he bought from his first payment. Magnus, on the meantime, is slowly working his way up to Broadway, having a safe spot in a theatre group that has already been considered the best in off-Broadway theatre. Alec still makes sure to go to most of Magnus’ performances, as was their tradition from the first time. Raphael and Simon, still sweetly inseparable, also came back from California, but only last month and while Raphael has found a job as a barista, Simon is still on the job-hunt.

So of course, now that they’re all back in their home city, they plan to spend Halloween together. But while all the other years before, Magnus was the creative head in all their crazy happenings during the last years, this year Alec has planned something very special. Magnus is going to have a performance early that night, and after the play finishes, it’s Simon’s and Jace’s job to pick him up. They told him that they are going to have a party at Alec’s and Magnus’ place, but the reality looks different – everybody knows, even Izzy, but not Magnus. Raphael is working that night as well, but while Alec is preparing dinner, he gets a text wishing him good luck and definitely overusing winky and smirky faces. Clary is also there, helping him prepare the different dishes, setting the table and decorating the flat in a way that Alec would’ve never been creative enough for. Izzy also fulfils her role, shooting a text to Magnus that says, “I hope you have fun at the party tonight! Wish I could be there” She sends Alec a screenshot from that text, and he smiles: the Band are the best friends he could ask for.

When everything is prepared as far as humanly possible, Alec goes to shower and change. He puts on the jeans that Magnus prefers on him because they’re so tight, a crisp white shirt and a blazer, complete with shiny dress shoes. He shaves carefully, styles his hair and puts all in all way too much effort in his outfit. He’s nervous and his hands are shaking and he’s looking for something to busy himself with when he’s stopped by soft pale hands on his arms – Clary.

She’s smiling at him softly and patting his arms. “Alec, everything is fine and ready. Relax, okay?”

Alec smiles sheepishly, but he can’t help it. “I’m just so nervous, y’know? I don’t even know why”

“Because it’s so important to you” Clary pulls him into a hug. “If Jace would prepare something like this for me, I would adore it. Always remember, he loves you more than anything in the world”

Alec smiles. “Thank you, darling. For your help and for your support. For everything. You’re the best!”

Clary laughs and kisses his cheek. “I know, but now I’m gonna jump. Don’t ruin it, Lightwood!”

“I won’t!” He shouts after her, but the words still ring in his ears while he puts on some jazz vinyl that Magnus loves. As soon as he checks the clock and the stuff still bubbling in the kitchen, he hears the key turn in the lock. He wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans and goes to the door, greeting Magnus.

“Hi darling!” he says, a nervous smile on his face, the blush already creeping up his cheeks.

“What is going on here?” Magnus asks, suspiciously. For being so great at planning surprises, he himself hates them more than anything. “Where is everyone?”

Alec smirks, closes his arms around Magnus in a soft embrace and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’ve got something planned for you. You go put your stuff away and then meet me in the living room” Because they still have that huge dining table, and there’s where Alec set up dinner. There’s wine and a salad for starters and way too many candles that light the room. When Magnus enters with a slightly annoyed look, everything falls out of his face when he sees the scene.

“Alec” Magnus says, gaping. “Wow”

There’s a sheepish smile on Alec’s face. “Sit down, please, and enjoy dinner”

“You planned all of that for me?”

“It’s our three-year anniversary, of course I planned all of that for you” When Alec says that, he’s hold back by Magnus, spun around and pulled into a loving kiss. He smiles when he realizes that Magnus believes that the only motif behind this dinner is their anniversary. They sit down, eat and talk – even after all these years, they still find so many topics to talk about that a dinner between just the two of them is never quiet. Alec prepared a mixed salad, then a casserole with pasta and chicken, and some tiramisu for dinner. Magnus obviously enjoys it, and Alec loves watching him. Now, he’s not nervous anymore, because Magnus is taking it so well up until now. Instead, he’s excited. He can’t wait to get the actual surprise out of his blazer pocket.

When they’re finished with dinner, they still continue talking and drinking wine, but when one conversation topic runs out, Alec finally sees his time to move. “Magnus, I have to tell you something.”

Magnus reaches over the table and laces their fingers together. “What is it, my love?”

With them holding hands, Alec finds the courage that he lacked before to make his speech. “You know that you are the first and best friend I’ve ever had. I still remember us being small, and all that stuff we’ve been through. You’ve been there for me through all the best and worst times I’ve encountered, and I will never be able to repay you for that. I am also pretty sure that I fell in love with you long before I ever realized it. You’re the smartest, funniest, kindest, most beautiful person that I’ve ever met, and I never want to be without you again.” That’s the moment he gets up and down on one knee. He pulls out the small satin box with the ring inside, and watches Magnus’ eyes widen and fill with tears while all colour leaves his face.

“Magnus Bane, love of my life, will you do the honour to marry me?”

**Author's Note:**

> I already wrote the second chapter and am working on the third right now, so let's hope I'm gonna finish this quickly. Comments and criticism are much appreciated! Please tell me what you think about this :)


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